To Begin Again
by SesshyLover132
Summary: Sequel to "A Change Into a New Beginning". Three years after Kagome left, Sasuke is on a mission with his squad. In the forest, he finds a small peaceful looking cabin..but what he finds inside the cabin is the real surprise. SasukeKagome
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

_Clash_ Sasuke blocked a kunai with his katana. He drew back and then swung forward, slicing through the abdomen of the final enemy ninja.

"Fool." He muttered quietly under his breath, withdrawing his blade and letting it hang by his side.

He was on a special mission in the Land of Waterfalls. He had been sent by the Hokage to infiltrate a wanted man's hideout an assassinate him.

The man's name was Nakioma Hiroshi. He was wanted for a crime in the Village Hidden Among the Stones. The Tsuchikage had been murdered in an attack by the man and the council had rebelled. Lady Tsunade, with the help of the Kazekage, had stepped in.

A new Tsuchikage had been inaugurated, but the village had still screamed for revenge. The two Kages had managed to calm the people by reassuring them that the man responsible would be caught and killed.

Sasuke's squad had been assigned the mission. It had went smoothly in the beginning. They had infiltrated the hideout and taken out Nakioma, but, upon leaving, a band of rogue ninja once led by the rebel had appeared.

"I think that's it." The ANBU beside him said, his face hidden behind a fox mask. Bright blonde hair spiked out at several angles behind the mask and clear, blue eyes were visible through the eye holes of the mask.

Sasuke nodded curtly. "Go and look ahead. I'll check for a moment, just in case."

The fox-masked ANBU rolled his eyes. "Alright, teme, but don't take too long." He motioned for the others of the team to follow him.

Sasuke scanned the battlefield, what had once been a peaceful meadow was now littered with the bloody, decapitated corpses. His search turned up nothing and he jumped onto the branch of a tree on the outskirts of the meadow and continued after his team.

Only a few trees into the forest, he stopped as an odd feeling swept through him. Just below his navel, he felt a sort of tugging, pulling him to the right, the opposite direction of his team.

'What is this?' He quickly swept his gaze through the trees. 'Is it some sort of genjutsu?'

With this thought he activated his sharingan and followed the urge.

-scene change-

It wasn't long before Sasuke realized that with each leap he took, the urge became stronger, leading him to an unknown place.

Soon after, the area surrounding him began to change. The trees began to thing and it seemed to him that the pull was leading him to a small cabin that he could faintly see in the distance.

Smoke languidly streamed from a hand-made, grey stone chimney, most likely from a fire used to stem the cold winter chill.

As he got closer, he could make out a vague outline of the home. 'Is that a person?' He squinted slightly and determined that yes, it was in fact a person. The silhouette was standing between the gap of a straight, wooden picket fence that surrounded the cabin.

Faintly, he could see a slight purple glow surrounding the person.

'Is that…tattoos?' His eyes widened drastically. ' No, it couldn't be, could it?'

He stopped a few paces from the fence.

'Kagome.' Sasuke thought, struck speechless.

As if she'd read his mind she spoke, "Hello, Sasuke."


	2. Surprise

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Why did you call me here?" Sasuke demanded, his eyes sweeping cautiously around the cabin's living room. "In fact, _how _did you call me here would suffice."

After he had arrived, Kagome had ignored his questions at first and refused to answer until he came inside.

The living room he saw now was small, but cozy with a western theme. A small, brick fireplace was on the north side of the wall and, closely placed in front of it, was a small sofa and a low wooden table.

He glanced back and looked Kagome in the eye.

"Do you remember the night before I left Konoha?" Kagome asked instead, ignoring his questions.

"What of it?" The Uchiha growled, he didn't want to remember. He knew that it would only cause him more pain.

"I…I've wanted to tell you something for awhile. I know I shouldn't have kept it from you, that you deserved to know…" She gushed, surprising even herself with the onslaught of words.

"Is there a point in this little speech?" Sasuke interrupted sharply.

"I wanted…" She paused to take a deep breath and gather her courage, "I wanted to tell you about…about your son." Kagome looked down and motioned for the small boy behind her to step out.

Sasuke stepped back, shock crashing through him. 'A son? Wha…?' He looked down at the boy and then back up at Kagome, then down again, not comprehending. The second time he looked, he noticed the tiny black ears sitting on top of the mass of black hair on the boy's head.

"What the hell is he?" He whispered, taking another step back.

"He's a hanyou. I'm a demon, you're a human, essentially that ends with him being half of each." Kagome was watching the Uchiha's actions cautiously. 'What will he do?'

"A monster…he's a monster." Sasuke shook his head while glaring at the boy. He tried to ignore the pang in his chest when tears welled in the child's obsidian eyes.

"How can you say that? He's your son, damn it!" She cried, placing herself in front of Sukayu once again.

Sasuke merely shook his head.

Quiet sobs escaped Sukayu's small throat and he trembled slightly. His father hated him, but why? He had heard stories from his mother all his life, stories about his father being great and strong. His mother said that his father loved her and that, when he saw him, his father would love him too.

For the first time in a long time, his mother was wrong.

"You know what Sasuke, go to hell!" Kagome screamed, turning and embracing her son.

"I only wanted you to know that he existed. You don't have to stay and you don't have to claim him, but…either way he is still your son and he is still here, no matter what." She murmured in a deadly voice, venom dripping in every syllable.

Sasuke paused in the doorway as he was leaving the cabin and looked back and down at the two. A younger version of his own face stared up at him, hurt and betrayal shining in his matching eyes. It was the same look, Sasuke realized, the same look that had been in his own eyes all those years ago.

When Itachi had murdered his family.

With a feeling of horror, Sasuke fled.


	3. Confessions

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

Kagome kneeled down to her son's level.

"Why doesn't he like me, Mommy?" Sukayu asked quietly once his father was gone.

"Remember how you told me you felt when I told you he was coming?" She questioned, pulling back to look him in the eye.

Sukayu wiped his eyes and sniffled, "Yes, Mommy."

"And what did it feel like?" She smiled at him softly.

"It felt like butterflies were flying in my tummy, mommy, and I was very scared." He confessed, pointing to his stomach.

"That's how your father feels." Kagome assured him.

"Really, mommy?" He looked up at her with his big, innocent onyx eyes.

"Yes, baby, I'm sure of it." She hugged him close so that she wouldn't have to see his face when she lied. 'I hope…'

-scene change, time skip-

Sasuke sliced through another clone and watched it dispel. It had been less than a week since he'd discovered he was a father.

His mind conjured the picture of his son once again.

He winced inwardly, seeing the trembling lips and watery eyes of his own blood.

"Hey teme, pay attention!" Naruto shouted at him, "What's your fucking deal, you've been like this all week!"

'Shit!' Sasuke cursed himself and poured chidori into his blade.

Lightning crackled through the air, destroying all of the clones surrounding him.

"What's the point in that Uchiha? I will merely make more!" Their enemy cackled. "And with my little friend here having the ability to read into your mind and find your secrets, I am invincible!"

"Go, Jekanu and find out their secrets!" The man shouted for his teammate -a short, thin child like with startling blue hair- to attack.

The girl nodded quickly formed the hand signs for her jutsu. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them wide. Her mouth moved rapidly, as if helping her brain decipher what it was reading.

"Damn it!" Naruto dodged an attack from the other ninja and threw some kunai.

The girl leaned over and told her leader everything she had seen.

The man slowly smiled.

Sasuke cursed and moved swiftly, using his chidori filled blade to slice through the girl and kill her.

Even so, the man continued to smile. "You think she was the only one capable of that that I have? Besides, I have the information I want."

The man blocked Sasuke's blade with his own and dodged a kunai from Naruto.

"I wonder what your friend thinks of your secret?" The man's grin revealed sharp, white teeth. "Oh, but wait, he doesn't know does he? You didn't tell your best friend about your little secret did you, Uchiha? You didn't tell him about your-"

The man's head slid to the side and toppled off his shoulders. Sasuke stood from his crouched position and sheathed his katana. "Enough."

"What was he talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, grabbing the stolen heirlooms they were sent to retrieve from the decapitated body.

Sasuke ignored him.

"Sasuke, answer me." Naruto demanded, grabbing the other and pining him into a tree.

"Let me go, dobe. Let me go, now!" Sasuke glared, struggling fiercely.

"No! Not until you tell me!" The blonde replied, tightening his grip.

"I have a son, damn it!" Sasuke yelled in an uncharacteristic fit of uncertainty. "I have a son." He panted.

Then, he glared at the now frozen blonde.

"Wha-?" Naruto mumbled.

"I have a son, dobe."

With a start, Naruto remembered three years ago, back to when he had thought that there was something going on between Sasuke and Kagome.

"That's one of the reasons, Kagome left wasn't it? You knocked her up!" Naruto released the Uchiha and glared.

"Don't look at me like that dobe! I didn't even know he existed until less than a week ago!" Sasuke rubbed his sore neck.

"So you're a dad huh? What's it like? What's your son like? What's his name?" Naruto threw questions at him.

Sasuke sighed and sat on one of the fallen trees. "I have no idea…"

"Eh? What the hell do you mean 'You have no idea'" The blonde shouted, baffled as he sat down next to him.

"I panicked when I saw him. I saw the demon ears and the fangs and the claws and I panicked." He clenched his fists and looked at the ground.

"Oh yeah, he would be a half-demon wouldn't he?" Naruto blinked.

"Yes." Sasuke placed his head in his hands.

"What did you do, teme?" Naruto asked, fearing the worst and regretting that he had such little faith in his best friend.

"I…I called him a monster." Sasuke choked out, feeling the burn of the words in his throat.

Naruto went rigged beside him, his face frozen in an expression of horror.

"When I was leaving, I looked back at him. Other than the demonic additions, he looked just like me…he had my eyes and…" Sasuke took a deep breath, "and he had this look in his eyes…the same one I remember having with Itachi." He choked again.

"Damn, teme…" Naruto sighed heavily and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to give him a little comfort. "What are you gonna do?"

Sasuke shook his head, ignoring the wetness on his cheeks. "I don't know, dobe, I just don't know."


	4. Apologies

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Mission completed successfully, Lady Hokage." Sasuke reported, his voice a monotone of syllables.

The Fifth Hokage nodded her blonde head and took the paperwork from the young Uchiha. "Very well, you're pay will be transferred to your bank accounts and you will be assigned a new mission after a two-day resting period."

Naruto grinned and nodded his head. Then, he noticed his best friend's hesitation and looked at him curiously.

"If I may, Lady Hokage, I would like to request a longer leave." The raven-haired young man spoke. "There is something that I need to attend to."

The blonde Hokage blinked and scribbled slightly on a piece of paper in front of her. "Fine, but I can only grant you four extra days, we are stretched tightly on our available ninja for higher ranking missions as it is."

Sasuke nodded his thanks.

"However, what could be so important that you would request a leave of absence?" Tsunade folded her hands together in front of her and stared at the Uchiha with dark brown eyes.

"I…" He paused for a moment and looked at Naruto, who nodded his head. "I have made a severe mistake with someone very dear to me. I need the leave to correct my mistake." He answered vaguely.

Tsunade looked suspiciously between the two before sighing inaudibly and nodding her head, dismissing them silently.

-scene change-

The woods surrounding him were quiet as he carefully retraced his steps back to the small cabin. Every bit of him was wound tightly with anxiety. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times to regain his calm exterior.

It didn't take him long to find it. It was still as picturesque as he remembered with it's wooden picket fence and handmade chimney.

Sasuke steeled his resolve and his way up the cobblestone path to the door. He closed his eyes briefly and knocked once.

Mere moments seemed like ages to Sasuke as he waited for someone to open the door.

The door creaked slightly as it was pulled open by Kagome. "What do _you _want?" Her voice was laced with venom.

He inwardly flinched. "I came back to apologize and to get to know my son a little more." The Uchiha shoved away his pride and confessed. "I was irrational and I panicked. I'm sorry for the things that I said." He forced himself to look into her steely eyes and tried to covey his feelings.

Kagome hesitated. From behind her, Sukayu peaked around her legs. "Mommy, is that Daddy?"

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat and practically melted at being called that. It made everything seem more real.

Kagome sighed and dug her fingers into the door. "Yes, baby. He's come to visit you." She opened the door all the way and moved aside to allow him to come inside.

Sukayu's dark eyes flashed happily. "Really, mommy?" He grinned up at his mother and then turned to face his father. He mellowed slightly after his father had stepped in and shut the door behind him. What if his father said something hurtful again?

Noticing his son's pained expression, Sasuke knelt down. "I'm sorry about what I said last time, I was just afraid."

Sukayu's eyes widened. "Really? You were afraid?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, I was." He jerked slightly in surprise when his son wrapped is small arms around him.

"It's okay, daddy. I get scared sometimes, too." Sukayu smiled up at him.

The Uchiha's eyes softened and he hugged his son tightly.

Kagome watched the scene with guarded eyes, her head filled with a wave of conflicting emotions. "Sukayu, why don't you take your father to you room and show him your drawings?"

Sukayu beamed. "Great idea, Mommy! This way, Daddy!" He giggled and ran down the small hallway leading further into the house.

Sasuke chuckled slightly and rose. Awkwardly, he walked beside Kagome as he followed Sukayu down the hallway.

Outside the door, he stopped and turned to face her. "You picked a good name for him." He whispered, "And you've raised him well. I only wish that you had told me about him sooner."

Kagome flinched slightly and opened her mouth to speak.

"Come on, Daddy! In here!" Sukayu appeared and tugged his father's hand.

"Later." She whispered to him as Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled by his hand.


	5. Note

Dear Readers,

Many of you have asked me to continue and some of you have asked if I am going to continue writing at all. Yes, I will be continuing all of my stories. For "To Begin Again" I already have the plot, I just need to write the chapters. For my other stories, I have written bits and pieces of further chapters, I just need to string them together.

I'm sorry you have had to wait on me so long, I just haven't been able to write very much lately. Please me patient with me :/… I'll try to have some chapters posted by next week and, hopefully, I'll be able to write them.

Love to all,

SesshyLover132


	6. Pride

-1**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Rumiko Takahashi.

It was still early into the morning, he could tell. The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon and shadows danced in the light of the moon. Why was he awake? What had woken him? Something creaked.

Alert now, he cracked his eyes open slightly and listened intently for another sound. When the thing creaked, again-it must have been the door-he moved too swiftly for the intruder to see.

As his eyes became better adapted to the light, he could faintly make out the silhouette of a small person standing in the doorway. Irritated, he activated his sharingan. He squinted slightly, and then lowered the kunai grasped in his hand. "Sukayu? You should know better than to sneak up on people while they are sleeping. I could have hurt you!"

Sukayu squeaked, surprised. "I'm sorry, I was just checking in on you."

"Checking in on me?" Sasuke squatted so that he was level with the child.

"Yes, like mommy does for me." The black haired hanyou peered up at him innocently.

"I see." Sasuke sighed, "I suppose I can't blame you then, but how on earth could you see to find my room without bumping into things?"

Sukayu beamed up at him. "Mommy says it's because I have special eyes. She says 'You have eyes like your father.'" 

'Eyes like me?' Sasuke jerked then told Sukayu to look up at him.

Sure enough, the first stage of the sharingan-accented by three tri-comma marks ringed around an onyx pupil- was peering up from his three-year-old child's eyes.

'But how? He is so young….' Sasuke thought, but even though he was astonished, he could also feel the swell of pride that was bubbling up within him. His son had to be brilliant for such a thing to happen.

"Sukayu, how long have you had special eyes?" He asked carefully.

"Since I turned three years old, Daddy." The little boy grinned, the tri-commas in his eyes spinning quickly.

"Do you remember what happened when you got them?" He stood and lifted his son up into his arms.

"Yeah…" Sukayu mumbled, glancing away. "I remember 'cause it was so scary. I was walking with Mommy through the woods and then all these people came. Mommy told me later that they were people like her, people like me."

'Demons?' Sasuke wondered. "Then what happened?"

"Mommy started arguing with one of them. They kept shouting at each other. A man said horrible things to Mommy."

"What do you mean by 'horrible things'?"

"Mommy told me to never say what I heard and told me that they were very bad words." Sukayu explained, "Then, a lady came over to me. She told me that I needed to come with her or Mommy would be in trouble and I didn't want Mommy to get in trouble, so I followed her." Sukayu squirmed from his father's arms and sat down on the bed.

"I grabbed the lady's hand and then Mommy noticed. She told the lady to let go of me, that she had no right to touch me at all. That's when the lady got really mad. She called Mommy a disgrace for being with a human. She said…" Sukayu trailed off.

"Said what?" Sasuke urged, interested.

"She said that I was a monster 'cause I had a human Daddy." Sukayu looked up at him, his eyes wet with tears. "She said that I should die 'cause I shouldn't have been born."

'I'll fucking kill the bitch!' Sasuke's own sharingan flared and the tri-commas swirled. "What happened then?"

"Mommy got really mad. She moved really fast and started hitting the lady." Sukayu looked down.

"Then the lady started fighting back and the man started to help her. They were ganging up on Mommy! It made me really mad. Then, I started to see things I couldn't before and everything seemed slower. I screamed at the man and lady and told them to stop hitting my Mommy! They looked over at me and they ran away. They screamed at Mommy and told her that they would be back to 'finish it'." He continued, clenching his small fists.

"Mommy says it's 'cause of my eyes that they ran away. She says that when I get really mad that they look like hers too and that it scared them."

Sasuke stared at his son, his mind spinning with new information. Then, he stood up and picked up Sukayu. "It's gotten really late. I think it's time for a certain boy to get back to bed, don't you?" He smirked at his son and carried him to his room.

Sukayu whined, but obeyed when his father told him to climb into bed. Sasuke paused for a moment then put his hand on his son's head "Sukayu?"

"Yes, Daddy?" Sukayu cuddled into the blankets on his bed.

"I'm proud of you." He said, his heart swelling at the widening of his son's eyes and the grin that appeared on his small face. Then, he turned and went back into his own room. Tomorrow he would have to have quite a chat with Kagome.


	7. Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Mommy! Mommy!" Sukayu shrieked happily as she picked him up and twirled him around.

"Good morning, Sukayu. I'm guessing you slept well?" Kagome smiled softly as her son nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh! And I even checked on Daddy like you do me!" The hanyou beamed proudly.

Kagome raised an eyebrow as her former lover entered the room. Sasuke shrugged. "I see, that was very kind of you Sukayu. Now, why don't you eat your breakfast while your father and I talk."

Sukayu whined at this, but complied when his mother told him that they would all go outside together later once they were done.

"Follow me." She motioned for Sasuke to follow her further into the house.

Once they were far enough in the house, she placed a sutra on the wall and concentrated. It glowed a faint pink for a moment before molding into the wall.

"There, now Sukayu won't be able to hear us." She told him and settled down into one of the chairs near her bed. She motioned for him to do the same. The Uchiha complied and waited for her to speak.

"In all honesty, I…I'm not sure where to began." Kagome said, suddenly finding her clasped hands fascinating.

"Why not start with why you left? Was it because you knew about Sukayu? Did I do something?" Sasuke snapped, irritated at his lack of information and the hurt he felt.

"No, it wasn't you, Sasuke." She whispered, peering up at him with a sad smile playing on her lips. "It was your Hokage."

Sasuke flinched back, surprised. "Lady Tsunade? What does she have to do with this?"

"Everything." She smiled again, bitterly this time, as she recalled the memories that had sent her far away from the one she loved. "It was your Hokage that sent me away."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "You're lying!" He accused as he hastily stood up, shoving back his chair in the process.

"No, I'm not." Kagome gazed up at him. He searched through them for any hint of a lie and raked his hand through his hair when he found none. "But why would she do such a thing? You helped to protect the village, damn it!"

"But I was also the reason that it was in danger in the first place, remember?" She placed her hand on his arm and sent a wave of her energy to calm him.

When he relaxed slightly and sat back down in his chair, she continued. "After she told me, I was devastated. I wanted so badly to see you one last time that I stalled the guards assigned to me and escaped to you." She paused and took a deep breath.

"You have to believe me when I say that it wasn't my intention to sleep with you or get pregnant for that matter. It was just….I was just so _happy _when I found out you loved me that I didn't think anything of the consequences of my actions." She flinched slightly at the memory of his heartbroken and betrayed eyes and took another moment to collect herself.

This time, her voice quivered when she spoke, "I found out I was pregnant a few months after I left, while I was staying with an old woman in the Land of Earth. She was nice enough and took care of me when Sukayu was born. When she saw him though….anyway I ended up coming here and finding this abandoned house. I fixed it up and we've been here every since."

Sasuke, struck speechless by her, simply stared at her agonized face. Finally, after several minutes, he spoke, "Why did you call to me after so long? Why not sooner?"

Kagome flinched again and clenched her hands into fists, "I thought that I could do it on my own and that a child would only be burden to you. I didn't want to cause any problems for you and I definitely didn't want you to hate him." _Or me. _She let the sentence hang with the unspoken ending. He was also grateful that she didn't mention what happened when he originally met Sukayu.

"What changed then?" He questioned, curious and more than a little hurt.

"Sukayu changed. He developed your kekkai-genkai and I knew that he would need you. I hardly know anything about it. Besides he'd been asking when he would get to meet you." She looked into his eyes and smiled at the pride she saw there. "I take it he showed you the sharingan then?"

"Yes, he showed me last night when he came in to 'check' on me." Sasuke chuckled lightly.

"I see." She laughed with him for a moment, then saw the curious look in his eyes and stopped. "What is it?"

"Sukayu told me about what happened when he developed the sharingan, but he could only tell me his side of the story. What really happened?"

Kagome clenched her fists, a look of pure unadulterated anger crossing her features. "They were people I knew a long time ago. They were trying to take Sukayu away from me because he was a hanyou. I fought with them and then, they saw that Sukayu had powers from you as well as me and they ran to regroup." Her eyes pleaded with him not to ask anymore questions about it.

Sasuke glared at her for a moment before nodding.

She nodded to and stood up. She stretched her arms above her head and popped her back.

"So, do you have any more questions about anything else? Because Sukayu is probably done eating and getting restless."

"I just have one more question." He answered and stood as well. He crept closer to her and placed a hand on her cheek. He smirked at her blush and leaned closer. "After all this time, what is it you feel for me now?"

When her blush deepened, he swept forward to capture her lips.

"Daddy! Mommy! Can we go outside now?" Sukayu crashed through the door in a rush of excitement.

Kagome jerked back, her blush still staining her features. Sasuke cursed inside his mind, but kept careful control of his facial features.

Kagome collected herself and smiled at her son, "Of course, love. Just let mommy put her hair up."

"Okay!" Sukayu beamed and rushed out of the room, dragging his father with him.

Kagome sighed and picked up an elastic band and brush from her dresser. It took only a moment for her raven hair to be swept up into a less than elegant ponytail and then she was ready.

"All right, I'm ready." She greeted them at the door.

"Yay!" Sukayu exclaimed and happily escaped from the house.

Kagome shook her head and moved to follow him. Sasuke stopped her with a hand on her arm and leaned forward so that his mouth grazed her ear. "Don't think that you can leave my question unanswered or that we are anywhere near done." He whispered, his mouth brushing the sensitive pointed tip of her ear and causing her to shiver.

"Come _on_! Let's go play!" Sukayu showed up at the door again and grasped both of his parents' hands to lead them outside. Both ravens smiled and allowed their son to pull them out into the bright sunlight.

**A/N: Well, I finally updated. It took me forever to get my uninspired brain into working order and type it. I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review. **

**-SesshyLover132**


	8. Leave

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

The next few days flew by for the repairing family. Sasuke spent most of the time catching up on Sukayu's life in any way that he could. He found out the boy loved tomatoes as much as he did, but he'd also developed a taste for ramen from his mother. He learned that Sukayu was very intelligent; he had legible writing and could read quite well for his age.

Sasuke spent the other bit of his time with Kagome. He spent the hours of the night with her relearning her habits, her interests, and reacquainting himself with her lovely body.

It was the fifth day of his leave and the day before he had to go back. They were all seated around the small table in the kitchen, eating a simple meal of grilled fish, rice, and umeboshi (1) with Chimaki (2) as a special treat for Sasuke's last day.

The family was quiet; the only noise at the table came from the clinking of dishes and chopsticks. Sasuke glanced up and around the table as he finished his meal. Sukayu wasn't really eating, instead he was picking at his food, and Kagome had finished her food as well.

"Daddy?" Sukayu spoke as he placed his chopsticks down.

"Hn? What is it Sukayu?" The Uchiha asked, slightly perturbed at the put-out look on his son's innocent face.

"Why are you leaving? Don't you like it here with us?" The younger replied, tears gathering in his obsidian eyes and threatening to spill over.

'Shit.' The raven cursed in his mind, he had been wondering when this question would come up. "Of course not, Sukayu. Why would you think that? I love it here with you and your mother, but I have to go home."

"But why? You could just stay here with us! This could be your new home!" Sukayu jumped up from his spot at the table, his small hands clenched into fists.

"Sukayu!" Kagome scolded, unsure of whether to comfort the boy or scold him further.

The small boy blinked back his tears and dashed from the room. "Sukayu!" Kagome called, bolting up from the table.

"No, let me." The older Uchiha insisted, standing up slowly and gently squeezing her shoulder. "I think I might need to explain a few things to him."

Kagome nodded in gratitude.

-change-

"Sukayu? Will you come out from under the blankets and talk for a moment?" Sasuke quipped, trying to portray a sense of comfort and warmth in his normally impassive voice.

"Nu-uh." Sukayu shook his head and drew the blankets tighter around himself.

Sasuke sighed inwardly and sat down on the bed next to his son. "Sukayu, I have to leave. I have duties and obligations to my village and my Hokage."

The younger raven squirmed in his hiding spot, but refused to speak.

"I would love to stay here with you, Sukayu, but I can't. Not yet, anyway."

Sukayu stilled, his curiosity peaked.

"As soon as I can, I'm resigning from my duties to the Land of Fire and the Hokage. I'll come here with you and take on independent missions instead."

"But daddy, will you be okay with that? What about your friends?" Sukayu's raven hair and obsidian eyes were suddenly visible from underneath the blankets.

Sasuke chuckled, a low throaty noise, and glanced slyly at his son. "You didn't seem too worried about my friends earlier, son."

Sukayu reddened, slightly embarrassed that he didn't take his father's feelings and friends into consideration. "I'm sorry…" He frowned.

The older Uchiha placed his calloused palm on his son's head and carded his fingers through his hair. "Hn, do not worry so much, Sukayu. I was very much like you when I was your age."

"Really?" The younger looked up at him, a large grin on his face and pride shining in his eyes.

"Really." Sasuke nodded, remembering when he only worried about himself as a child, especially when he wanted to spend time with his father or brother.

-change-

The next morning dawned bright and early for the recovering family. Currently, Sukayu had his arms wrapped tightly around the older sharingan user. Sasuke was kneeling in front of the home's wooden door, his arms around his son. Beside him, Kagome stood with his freshly packed bag.

"I have to go now, Sukayu." Sasuke whispered even though in all actuality he didn't want to go.

Sukayu nodded sadly, but didn't release his arms. Sasuke sighed and gently pried the small arms from his shoulders. He carefully let them go at the hanyou's sides. "I'll be back as soon as I can be."

He nodded again, resigned to his father's departure.

Sasuke stood and took his bag from Kagome. She shivered when his hand ghosted over hers, remembering the events of the night before. He smirked and tugged her to him. "I'm going to miss you both." He breathed in her ear. She shivered again, this time because his breath tickled her sensitive ear.

He kissed her forcefully, trying to pour his desires and feelings into one show of affection.

She pulled back after several long moments, panting slightly. "Go, before I refuse to let you leave." She whispered back. He grinned slightly, kissed her once more, patted Sukayu's head, and left quickly.

'Come back soon.' Kagome thought, wondering exactly what would happen when he returned to the village.

**End Chapter. The next chapter will be about Sasuke and his talk with Tsunade. I think many of you will be surprised at exactly how that conversation goes. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**(1) Umeboshi - pickled ume or Japanese aricots. **

**(2) Chimaki - a steamed sweet rice cake generally served on Tango no Sekku (Children's Day) and the Gion Festival. **


	9. Missing

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Did you hear that the Uchiha brat is missing?"

Sasuke was close enough to the Konoha gates to listen in on the chunin's converstion.

"Missing? Where did you hear that?" Another asked. Sasuke settled into a nearby tree, intent to listen in for a moment.

"You know the girl I'm seeing?" Something was mumbled too low for Sasuke to hear. Ruckus laughter followed for a moment. Sasuke frowned, appalled.

"Yeah, her. Anyway, she was in the Elder's Council room when they were ranting about it. They were making quite a fucking scene, from what I got."

Sasuke held back an undignified snort. Those damn elders needed to stay out of his business.

"Why hasn't the Hokage done anything yet? What if he's gone rogue?" the second one raved, enraged.

Sasuke sneered and jumped down from the tree in a flash. He grabbed the second one by the leg, tugged him backward, and sent him sprawling to the ground.

The first, startled, rushed to grab a kunai. Sasuke snatched him around the neck and forced him to his knees.

He threateningly placed his sharp back against the others bare throat and pressed down slightly, just enough to draw a thin line of blood.

"Perhaps because he isn't actually missing? Or rogue for that matter?" He whispered, his voiced edged with anger.

The two must have sensed the anger in his voice because they tensed immediately.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once: If you ever, **ever**, want to walk again, you will be silent. You will never spread rumors like that again, understand?" Sasuke snarled, his sharingan flaring to life.

The second one nodded furiously, but the first, the one he had pinned, struggled in defiance. "It's not a rumor! You've been missing for nearly a week and probably a damned traitor too!"

Sasuke pressed down harder with his katana.

The chunin stilled and gasped for breath. He gurgled, the blood flooding his trachea, and his struggles weakened.

Sasuke released him and snapped, "You! Take him to the hospital!"

The brown haired chunin scambled to his feet and rushed to the aid of his friend.

Sasuke turned and stomped away. He could hear as the chunin whispered reassuring word to the other as he carefully carried him on his back.

-scene change—

At the Hokage tower, Tsunade was in a heated argument with the Konoha Council over the whereabouts of Uchiha Sasuke.

"He is an Uchiha! Our last Uchiha! Where is he, Tsunade?" Homura yelled.

"He is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, you know." Tsunade massaged the bridge between her nose and eyes, frustrated. Where was Sasuke anyway? He should have been back in the early morning.

"He has been gone for days, Tsunade! And you've given us very little information!" Koharu complained. They were the Konoha Council; they should be informed of one of their most valuable shinobi's location.

"If it were anyone else, you would not be as involved." The blonde sneered at the two old coots, outraged at their nativity.

Koharu reared back, insulted, and Homura opened his mouth to defend his former teammate. Just then, the door of the council room opened, revealing the missing Uchiha.

"It's about time you brat!" Tsunade yelled, facing him. Sasuke blinked and looked around the room. "What took you so damn long?"

"I believe I was granted a six day leave, Lady Hokage, which means I do not actually return to active duty until tomorrow." He answered, his voice carefully impassive.

Tsunade huffed, "Yes, so you were, Uchiha. I assume you took care of the matters for your leave?"

"But of course, Lady Hokage." He lied smoothly, "But if I may request an audience with you alone, Hokage-sama?"

The blonde Hokage eyed him warily and replied "Ye-"

"Hold on just a moment!" Homura boomed. "Uchiha Sasuke, unless this is a matter of secrecy for a mission, I believe you can speak in front of us. After all, Lady Tsunade is a very busy woman." He smirked, satisfied with himself.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he raged beneath the surface. How dare that damn old man! "Very well, Elder-san." He turned to face the Hokage, who had taken a seat behind her desk, an outraged, dissatisfied look on her face.

"Lady Hokage, I would like to resign from my position as a ninja of Konoha under the obligation clause."


	10. Proof

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"What?" The Fifth Hokage raged. "What are you talking about?" She jumped from her seat.

Sasuke slowly repeated himself, his eyes not on the Hokage, but instead on the two elders. Homaru's face was nearly purple with rage and Koharu looked as if she might be sick.

"And what obligation could you possibly have? Show me what could possibly so important!" Homaru spat, furious. What the hell was this boy thinking? There was no way they would ever allow him to leave Konoha!

Sasuke took a slow, deep breath as he tried to calm the anger the reared up inside of him. Homaru was grating on his very last nerve and Koharu was not very far behind. He needed to restrain himself if he wanted this to end well.

"Elder-san, my obligation is not a what, rather, a _who_." He spoke calmly, his face and voice void of any of the thousand emotions he was currently feeling. He hoped that this would be over soon. He missed Kagome and Sukayu. Besides, he'd promised his son that he would return as quickly as he could.

"A who?" Koharu asked, her wrinkled face ashen, as if she knew something. Sasuke nodded and looked over to the Hokage. Her face showed confusion, anger, and, if he wasn't mistaken, fear. Her lips were set into a thin line, her eyebrows were drawn together, and she appeared to be conflicted.

"Lady Hokage?" He said, approaching her desk. "Do you remember the mission to kill the assassin of the Tsuchikage?"

The blonde nodded, "Of course I do, brat." She opened and closed a few drawers in her desk, trying unsuccessfully to find a bottle of sake. 'Damn you, Shizune.' She cursed in her mind. Her fingers twitched with the urge to punch something. What was really going on here? "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It was on that mission that I found out about my son." He met her brown eyes with his obsidian, determination settling upon him. Koharu gasped from behind him and then began to cough. Homaru jumped from his seat with a yell of surprise. Lady Tsunade, however, showed only a small amount of surprise. Sasuke saw the marginally small widening of her chocolate eyes.

"Son?" She spoke calmly, but again it was her eyes that betrayed her. Emotions swirled within them, the most prominent being disbelief.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, unwillingly breaking their eye contact for a single moment. He waited a moment, then sought her eyes again and continued. "His name is Uchiha Sukayu. He is three years old." Tsunade's eyes widened again, her brain calculating when he would have been conceived.

Sasuke stepped away from the desk and moved to the window. He looked out, searching over the varieties of buildings and stores, over the walls and gates, and beyond, where his lover and son resided. "He is quite smart and very talented." He faced the Hokage again and smirked with pride. "He has the potential to be strong and has already started to train somewhat."

"What is this nonsense!" Homaru cried in disbelief. "You claim that this boy is three years old, yet you also claim that you only just found out about him!"

"Indeed." Sasuke scowled at the elder. "It is the truth. My son was kept from me for three years." 'But no longer.' He finished in his mind, staring at the elder with cold, hate filled eyes.

Homaru scoffed and Koharu spoke up. "So you now claim that someone kept the boy from you? Who would do so?" She looked at him with a knowing gaze, which irked him, and spoke as if he was a small child who had done a bad deed.

He gritted his teeth and kept calm. "My son's mother, of course."

"And who might she be?" Koharu's eyes were wide and astonished, as if the very idea of a mother keeping a son from the father was an outrageous principle.

Sasuke ignored her and looked at the Hokage once more. "I believe you know the answer to that, Lady Hokage."

A loud _CRACK _filled the room. Tsunade's fist had slammed into her desk, breaking the massive piece of furniture in two. "What were you thinking? You stupid brat! She is dangerous, do you understand?" The Hokage snarled.

Sasuke was quick and barked his reply. "It does not matter! I didn't care then that she was dangerous and I do not care now! She is my equal, my other half, do _you _understand?"

Tsunade's eyes filled with anger and disappointment. "You are an utter fool, Uchiha Sasuke." She turned away. "Go then. You are hereby dismissed of your duties to Konoha. You are no longer an ANBU, no longer a Konoha ninja, and no longer bound to us."

"Now hold on just a minute!" Homaru screamed, "You have no authority, no _right_, to release a ninja of his duties without the approval of the Council!"

"The hell I don't!" The Fifth Hokage barked, "I am the Hokage, the leader of this village, not you! It is I who decides who will be a Konoha ninja, not you! Therefore, it is I that decides who will also be released!"

"Not true!" He roared, quickly turning purple in his fury. "You must still go through procedure! You must still follow rules! And those rules state that we, as the council, must _approve_!"

The blonde scoffed and rubbed her temples. "Fine, then. Do as you wish. Will you, the Council of Elders, release the ninja, Uchiha Sasuke, from his duties as a ninja of Konoha so that he may be with his son?"

Homaru smirked and leaned back, "We most certainly do not."

Tsunade took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "And why is that?"

"Because I believe the Uchiha is lying." Homaru's smirk widened, though it was obscured slightly by the wrinkles on the edges of his mouth. "I want proof. Uchiha Sasuke, in order for you to be released of you duties as a Konoha ninja, you must bring forth your son and present him to us."


	11. One Condition

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"No." Sasuke sneered, blunt in his reply. "I would never bring my son here, not near you."

"You insolent boy!" Homura barked. "How dare you insult me! You will never be released from duty until you bring forth this 'son' of yours." He sneered at the Uchiha.

Sasuke glared, angry. "Do you think that you can stop me, old fool?" His sharingan flared with his temper, the tri-commas spinning rapidly. He clenched his teeth in irritation when the old ninja laughed.

"You wouldn't get very far, boy. There is only one of you and dozens of Konoha ninja who would chase a rogue Uchiha." Homura smirked and intertwined his knobby fingers.

"That is enough!" Tsunade raged, infuriated at the man. How dare he! "You are not the one who declares rogue ninjas! We have been through this once already, Homura!" Her brown eyes sparkled with fury.

"And you, Tsunade-hime, cannot protect him! If he leaves without our permission, it will not matter if he is officially rogue! Many will still see him as such!" Koharu intervened, clucking her tongue at the younger woman.

The fifth Hokage stormed up to the two elders and slammed her hands onto the high table in front of them. "Listen to me very closely." She whispered, her tone deadly. "I am the Hokage, both of you are not. Would it not be easy for me to say that you had committed mutiny? That Sasuke was on a long mission? I could easily assign the brat a mission conveniently located near his son." She smirked, "Do not cause me to use force, Elder-san. You would lose."

Koharu's eyes widened and she stuttered, her wrinkled face crinkled in astonishment and fear.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sasuke spoke, his voice even and calm. "Do not put yourself on the line for me. I will bring Sukayu."

"Brat!" The blonde snapped, whipping around quickly. "Stay out of this!"

But Sasuke shook his head. "I will do it. It seems as if it would be much easier than this."

"Ha! See, Tsunade-hime, he does have sense after all!" Homura chuckled, thoroughly pleased with himself.

"I will do it, Elder-san, on one condition." Sasuke smiled, a dangerous, feral thing, and his eye lids fell to half-mast over the tri-commas of his swirling sharingan. "You allow the mother to come as well."

"Fine, fine." The elder waved his wrinkled hand in dismissal. "Do as you wish, just bring forth this so called Sukayu." He stood from his chair, an air of arrogance surrounding him. "Come, let us leave Koharu. Our work is done for the day." He led the way out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Sasuke caught a glimpse of gravity-defying silver hair before the doors closed completely and narrowed his eyes. 'You sneaky old bastard.' He snarled in his mind, 'Just how long were you listening?"

"Uchiha!" Tsunade called, breaking his train of thought. He focused his attention on the blonde Hokage and waited for his instructions.

"Why did you do that?" She glared at him, her lips pursed into a thin line. "Now, what will you do when you bring back the child and they still will not let you leave? If what you say is true, if your son is real, then they will never let you, or him, go."

Sasuke laughed darkly. "Lady Tsunade, I mean no disrespect, but I will never be forced to stay here by those damned old fools."

Tsunade's brown eyes widened slightly, then softened. Did he hate the village so much? The council perhaps? Or was this son truly real,? Was there a family that waited on the Uchiha to return?

"So be it, then. You will leave within the hour and return as soon as possible." She fell easily into her role as Hokage. She stressed the ending and increased the authority in her voice, knowing well enough that the Uchiha would be able to understand.

"Yes, Lady Hokage." The Uchiha nodded, time was of the essence after all.

-scene change-

"…and then Akamaru tackled him!" Kiba finished, grinning widely and stroking the large dog's head.

"I can't believe that!" Naruto roared with laughter, his whole body shaking with the force of each chuckle. His right arm grasped his waist, -attempting to stop the shaking- while the other clutched desperately onto the table -to stop himself from falling.

"It's true! I swear!" Kiba was lost in a fit of amusement as well. He waved his arms around above his head for a moment, as if that would make the blonde believe him.

The others around the table looked on, only slightly amused by the tale. They were all currently seated around a large low table in the local barbeque shop. In the center of the table was medium-sized charcoal pit, where a fire slowly roasted a various assortment of skewered meat.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted as he pushed aside one of the dangling green flaps in front of the restaurant. His mask wrinkled as he smiled at the gathered group and took a spot between Yamato (a fairly new addition to their meetings) and Kurenai.

The teams tried to meet at least once a month, usually at a shop or restaurant, but, every now and then, they would meet at a training ground for a spare or two. It gave them a sense of togetherness, of still being teams. Even though they were generally separated on different missions and various village duties.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered, grinning at the older ninja. "Did you just get back from your mission?"

The silver haired man nodded, "Yes." His gloved hand reached forward and grabbed a skewer of barbequed beef. He slowly bit into the tender meat and turned to the older members of the group.

"There's something else as well." His tone was serious, enough so that the ones near straightened and listened with rapt attention.

"Kakashi?" Kurenai leaned closer, "Is something wrong?"

"No." The silver haired man shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's more suspicious than anything else."

"Perhaps we should speak of it later? In private?" Asuma glanced around, noticing the sideways glances of the younger ninja as well as passers-by.

He glanced around as well and nodded slightly, nearly undistinguishable to those who weren't paying close attention. "Ah." He put down the-now clean- skewer and rubbed his stomach. "That was very delicious." His mask crinkled again.

Several people around him snorted- or shrugged slightly- and returned to previous conversations, though it seemed as if they were not nearly as loud as before.

-scene change-

"What is this about, Kakashi?" Kurenai confronted him again, once they were safely tucked away in one of the interrogation rooms of the Hokage Tower.

"Sasuke is resigning." The silver-haired nin was blunt and to the point. He took a seat in one of the various chairs surrounding a low-table. "And the elders are not happy. They are using all of their power to force him to stay."

"Resigning? How is that possible? He's not nearly old enough to resign. Does he have some form of injury he's kept hidden?" Yamato questioned, taking a seat across from Kakashi.

"Indeed the Uchiha has far too much youth and power for such a thing to happen!" Guy burst in from his spot near the end of the room. He was currently bending to his left and right, stretching out his calves and thighs.

Kakashi shook his head. "No. From what I could make out, Sasuke is attempting to use the obligation clause."

"The obligation clause?" Asuma leaned against the door frame, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. "What sort of obligation are we talking about?"

Again, Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know. I had to leave for a while when a few of the ANBU guards nearly detected me. When I finally got back, the only thing I heard was Homura telling Sasuke to bring forth a person he called 'Sukayu'."

"Well, this is quite the incident." Asuma took a slow drag from his cigarette and released the nicotine filled smoke slowly.

"Indeed." Yamato and Kurenai agreed. "Correct!" Guy remarked, finished now with his leg exercises as he proceeded to his arms.

"What are we to do then? We all know that the Council will never let him go, at least not without a fight." Yamato said, facing Kakashi once more.

He sighed and nodded. "You're right, they won't just let him go, but I doubt there is much we can do. They have the upper hand here. We don't know who this person is or what sort of connection he has with Sasuke. All we can do is prepare for the worst.

The others agreed, knowing that the Council had far too much pride to all their last Uchiha to escape them.


	12. Trust

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Sasuke?" Kagome blinked, spinning around quickly and rushing to the fence surrounding her home. "You've returned already?" She questioned herself, watching as the Uchiha slowly topped the hill about a quarter-mile away. The wind blew lightly, lifting the Uchiha's ebony bangs from his face. He tilted his head slightly, stopped for a moment, and bent over into the grass, as if he were picking up something from the ground.

"What is he doing?" She wondered, returning to the laundry she was previously folding. She continued to watch the raven-haired shinobi, her curiosity flaring. The Uchiha had straightened, placed something in his pocket delicately, and leapt away. 'How strange.' Kagome mused, finishing the laundry and carrying it into the small home.

"Sukayu!" She called, placing the basket of clothing down in the living room. "Yes, mommy?" The little boy bounded into the room, a crayon in each hand and grin on his small face.

Kagome smiled and pushed back the dark fringe falling into his obsidian eyes. "Your father's back." Sukayu's eyes widened and, as he dashed back into his room, he cried, "Don't let him in my room, I'm not done yet!" She chuckled and shook her head. She turned and strode back out of the house, where the Uchiha had just opened the gate and was entering the yard.

"Sasuke." She grinned and crossed the distance between them. Sasuke chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Welcome home." She whispered, burying her face into his chest. His torso rumbled with another chuckle and he leaned down so that his lips brushed her ear. "Did you miss me?" He whispered, causing shivers to rush down her spine.

She shivered as goosebumps rose upon the ivory skin of her arms. "Of course I did." She replied, smiling slightly when the Uchiha chuckled again. He reached into his pocket and carefully pulled out a small purple flower. "For you." He said, tucking it behind her ear. Her eyes widened before softening as she squeezed him lightly around the middle. "Thank you, it's lovely."

"Daddy!" The pitter-patter of small feet rushing toward them broke the comfortable silence. Sasuke released Kagome and turned around, just in time for his son to wrap himself around his leg. "Hi, daddy." Sukayu grinned up at him. The raven haired ninja patted his son gently on his head and carded his fingers through his very similar inky locks. "Hello, Sukayu." The small boy grinned again even as he continued to cling to his father's leg. "Can I go into the house or shall I have to wait until you fall asleep?" He amusedly asked his son. Sukayu giggled and released the leg before rising and bolting back into the house. "Don't let him in my room yet, Mommy!" He called over his shoulder as he was closing the door.

Seeing the Uchiha's confusion, Kagome said, "He's got a surprise for you." The Uchiha nodded, his face softened but still semi-impassive. However, she could still detect the faint curve of the raven nin's lips and the slight glow in his obsidian eyes.

"So? How did it go?" She looped her arm through his and escorted him down the pathway to the cabin. Any tenderness that lingered on the raven's face melted away, leaving only a cool, impassive hatred. "I ran into some…complications." He breathed, his voice as frigid as ice.

"Complications?" She urged him to continue while opening the door to the small home. "Yes, the village Elders decided that I am lying, so I must show them my obligation before I can leave." The Uchiha scowled, "When, in reality, they just don't want their sole Uchiha to resign."

"What does that mean exactly? When you said you had to show them your obligation?" Kagome stopped at the entry way to the kitchen and faced her lover. Sasuke sighed and examined their clasped hands. "They want to see Sukayu, they want to know that he is real. Mainly, they want me to go back to the village so that they can try to keep me there for some foolish reason or another."

Kagome froze, her blood feeling as if it were chilled in her veins. Seeing her reaction, Sasuke carefully wrapped her in his arms. "I know that you don't fully trust me yet." He admitted, forcing her with a finger under her chin to look him in the eye. "I _will_ change that, but for the time being…I forced the Elders to agree to allow the mother of my child, meaning you of course, to come as well." Kagome smiled somewhat sadly when she noticed the vulnerability hidden in his eyes, but relaxed into his arms all the same.

"Okay," She whispered, "As long as you get to stay here with us, I'll allow it." The raven sighed inaudibly, relieved, and pulled her tighter against him. "When do we need to leave?" She asked, listening carefully and hearing the sounds of their son clattering around his room. She smiled softly.

"As soon a possible, so tomorrow, if we can." He replied, finally releasing her and moving into the kitchen. She nodded, grabbed the tea kettle, filled it with water, and placed it onto the stove. A slightly uncomfortable silence fell over them as they each mulled the possible draw-backs and danger of their trip.

In his room, Sukayu colored away on a large sheet of paper, the size of a small banner, giddy with the excitement of his father's return and the knowledge that he would finally have his complete family, all the time.


	13. Meet My Son

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

"Mommy, where are we going?" The small child asked, fidgeting with the beanie that covered his ears. The beanie was a gift from his Daddy, it was blue with a large fan shaped symbol on the front, but he hated anything that covered his ears.

"We are going to visit a village close by, sweetie." His mother explained, "Now, stop fidgeting, you know you have to wear your beanie when we leave the forest." She frowned at him and readjusted the blue beanie. Her miko powers always managed to hide his fangs and claws, but were unable to hide the small, triangular ears on his head.

Sukayu pouted and put his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped. "I know, Mommy, but I don't like it. It makes everything sound funny." Kagome smiled sadly down at him, memories of another hanyou rising to her mind. "I know, sweetie, but it's only for a little while." She kissed his forehead and rose from her crouching position. At the same moment, Sasuke was leaving the house, a small pack on his shoulder.

"For this to be so small, it weighs a ton, Kagome." He glanced at the woman, one eyebrow raised in question. She smiled back at him and laughed lightly. "Are you complaining?" She teased and laughed again when a fake scowl crossed his face. He huffed and adjusted the pack, all the while trying to stop the smile tugging at his lips.

"Are we leaving yet?" Sukayu looked up the two, a small frown marring his round face. "Yes, you impatient boy, we are." Kagome grasped one of his small hands in her own and lifted him onto her back. "Hold on tight, now." Sukayu nodded, excitement shining in his obsidian eyes, and they were off.

—Scene—

"Wow! Mommy look!" Sukayu pointed to the large stone wall that surrounded Konoha. Kagome laughed lightly and used her arms to bounce him slightly on her back. "I see it, love. How tall do you suppose it is?"

The boy's eyes brightened at the question and he paused for a moment to study the structure. "It's gotta be at least a hundred foot tall!" Sasuke suppressed a snort and watched the two out of the corner of his eye. Kagome grinned, "A hundred feet tall, you say! That's quite a big wall, isn't it?" Sukayu nodded enthusiastically, his eyes never leaving the wall.

"Just wait until you see the other side, Sukayu." Sasuke spoke, dropping Kagome's bag onto the soft, green grass that grew wildly on this side of the wall. The smaller raven brightened considerably more and rambled off questions about the village while they unpacked a few things. His hand brushed over something cool and he froze for a moment before pulling out the object. "Is this…?" He flipped the metal over in his palm, revealing the symbol engraved on the front.

Kagome frowned, "Yeah, it's the temporary hitai-ate they gave me. I never wore it." Sasuke nodded and handed it to her, "When you follow us, wear it. At least that way, you will seem less suspicious if someone sees you." Kagome snorted, no one would see her- she knew that for sure-, but smiled and put it on anyway. The forehead protector felt odd against her head, it was kind of heavy and she had to readjust it a few times before she felt comfortable. Sasuke watched her with amused eyes, a strange feeling of pride somewhere deep in his gut. Then, he nodded at her, ready to go on with the plan.

Kagome nodded back and slid their son off of her back. "Alright, love, you're going to go into the village with Daddy, okay?" Sukayu frowned, "But, where will you be Mommy?" She smiled and smoothed the bangs out of his eyes, "I won't be far behind, I promise. You won't be able to see me though, okay? Mommy is going to be disguised until she's needed." The smaller raven frowned again, his eyes shadowed with confusion. "Mommy is going to be a ninja for a little while, love." She smiled at him, "She wants to see how long it takes the other ninjas to know she's there. She wants to keep this village on its toes." Sukayu nodded and grinned up at her, although he didn't seem to believe her as much as she'd hoped.

Sasuke picked up their son and let him climb onto his back. "Ready?" He asked, his obsidian eyes locked with Kagome's. She nodded and picked up the bag. She kissed Sukayu on the forehead and then Sasuke on the cheek. "See you soon." Then, she was gone, up and over the stone wall around the village.

"Hold on tight, Sukayu." He tightened his hold on the smaller raven. Sukayu nodded and dropped his head to rest on his father's shoulder. "Here we go."

The two set off for the village gates, which were just a few meters west.

—Scene—

The two guards stationed at the gates were random chunin and simply nodded with a questioning look in their eyes as he passed. When their eyes strayed to Sukayu, a cold, abrupt "He's with me" forced them to look away.

On his back, Sukayu peeked under his bangs to look at the village around them. His obsidian eyes were wide as he drank in the sights and sounds, the buildings were larger than any he'd ever seen and everywhere he looked there was a group or two of people scattered about.

Sukayu felt his ears twitch and pulled them closer to his head, all of the added noise was beginning to hurt his sensitive ears. The extra smells that floated around in the air wasn't very pleasant either and didn't help with the small headache he was gaining. He whimpered quietly and pressed his nose into his father's shirt, hoping that it would help ease the smells a little.

Sasuke heard the small whimper and turned his head to glance at his son. Kagome had warned him that the village might affect him strongly, after all Sukayu wasn't used to so much noise and so many people. He shifted the smaller raven slightly to make the boy a little more comfortable and whispered quietly, "It'll be fine, Sukayu. Just try to shut out as much noise as you can, all right?"

He felt the nod against his back and Sukayu snuggled as close as he could to him. They were getting closer to the center of the village now, which meant that more and more people were gathering around them. So, to avoid the crowds -which would likely bring stares and questioning glances-, Sasuke warned his son to hold on tightly and took to the roof tops.

The Hokage Tower wasn't far away and he could see the window to the Council's meeting room. He hoped they liked surprises, because he wasn't planning on knocking.

—Scene—

"Perfect." Sasuke's obsidian eyes glinted with veiled mirth as he peeked in the window of the Elder's meeting room. There were people in there, mainly high ranked ninja. He smirked, the people in there were his comrades, people he knew and who trusted him. He spotted Naruto close to the window, a bored look in his eyes. Sakura and Kakashi were there to, along with many of the others from the former rookies. Lady Tsunade was seated next to the two Elders, who were speaking.

Sasuke smirked again, knowing that they would be outraged. He could picture their faces now, slowly purpling as they lost their breath in their anger. "Ready?" He whispered to the smaller raven. Sukayu nodded against his back and lifted his head up, looking into the window. "All of those people want to meet me?" He asked, his voice nervous.

"I'm sure all of those people would love to know who you are, Sukayu, but we are meeting two people in particular. Do you see the two wrinkled old people sitting next to the blonde woman?" Sasuke smiled slightly when his son giggled and scrunched up his face. Sukayu nodded then, and tightened his arms. "When we get in the room, stand behind me, understand? Good. Here we go then." Sasuke made Sukayu move slighty so he could wrap his arm around him and used the other to pry open the window.

Sasuke knew that the other ninja would hear the window pop open, but hoped that he could be inside before they were too alert. The window popped then and he forced it open. He saw the people in the room jump, although some- like Kakashi- seemed unaffected, as though they already knew he was here. He wouldn't doubt the sneaky bastard. He was in the room in the blink of an eye and had crossed it to face the Elders just as fast.

"Uchiha!" Koharu gasped, her wrinkled face stretched in a gasp of surprise. Sasuke stood slightly to the side of them, his back was facing a wall and Sukayu hidden behind him. Sasuke could feel his small hands tightly grasping his shirt and knew that his son was nervous.

"How dare you show up in the Council Room like that!" Homura roared, his eyes glinting with hatred. Sasuke heard Sukayu whimper behind him and reached back to place a hand on his head. He carded his fingers through his son's raven bangs and hoped that Homura would stop his yelling soon. It would no doubt give the small boy a headache.

"I only did as I was instructed, Elder-san. I was told to return as soon as possible." Sasuke answered cooly. Homura's face reddened and he opened his mouth to speak, then Sasuke's hand caught his eye and his face melted into an easy grin. "Ah, I see. So, you have brought him then?"

Sasuke could tell that all focus in the room was on the two -three really- of them and shrugged calmly, "I was told to bring him forth as proof of my obligation so that I may be released from my duties." Several gasps sounded throughout the room, the loudest from Sakura who was only two rows over from where he stood. He glanced around the room and noticed that Naruto had stood up and was slowly inching his way closer to them. He felt a little bit calmer then, knowing that Naruto had his back if something went wrong.

"Well, let's see him then!" Homura said, gleefully. "I want to meet him!" He clapped his hands as if to hurry him along. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and scowl tugged at his face. This old man was starting to get on his last nerve. However, he managed to school his face into its trademark bored expression and brought Sukayu slightly forward.

The smaller raven had a tight grasp of his shirt and refused to do much more than shuffle to his side and peak around, half of his small body still hidden. "Very well then, Elder-san." He continued to card his fingers through his son's bangs and Sukayu looked up at him, showing the people in the room his matching obsidian eyes. "I would like you to meet, Uchiha Sukayu, my son."

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I can't seem to write anymore, I've had writers block for a long time now, and have been neglecting my stories because of it. My inspiration is starting to come back, though, and I'm determined to finish this story. **

**-Sorry (again) and love to all, **

**SesshyLover132**


	14. Sukayu

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Masashi Kishimoto. **

It was at times like these that Kagome dearly wished that she had thought to bring her camera through the well. The look of utter shock that seemed permanently fixated upon the wrinkled old faces of the elders was something that needed to be remembered. Her vantage point offered her little view of the dozen other ninja spaced throughout the room, but she could imagine that they shared similar expressions.

She crouched slightly to the left, shifting her weight from her right leg to her left, and settled in on the side of the building. Her right hand twitched and her eyes darted back and forth, inside the Council Meeting Room, chaos was about to erupt.

-Scene-

Sasuke wrapped one arm protectively around Sukayu and jumped backwards to land neatly on one of the filing cabinets at the very back of the room. The look of utter glee that had filled the eyes of Homura worried him slightly and he thought it best to be as far as possible from the crowd.

"Sasuke! That's not possible! It can't be true!" Someone wailed. – Sakura, Sasuke mused, though he didn't shift his view away from the Elder's in front of him.

"Uchiha Sukayu! A son! Wonderful!" The deep-set crow's feet around Koharu's tired brown eyes crinkled together in delight. "We thought it could not possibly be so, but look! Simply look at the resemblance, Homura!"

Sasuke glared, his lips curling into a sneer at the elder woman's antics. "Are you saying that you believed I lied, Elder-san?" His voice was hardened and cold; the word's biting through the tension mounting in the air. Sukayu glanced up at his father, surprised at the utter hatred that seemed to shape the words. His father stroked his bangs once, offering a reassurance, before wrapping it around his waist once more.

"Of course!" Koharu snapped hatefully, "What proof have you given us to believe your word, Uchiha? Especially when how eager you seemed to leave the village merely a few years ago with Orochimaru!"

Homura roared. "Enough, Koharu!" He barked at his comrade; slowly he faced the raven haired nin, twined his fingers together and rested his chin upon them. "It is obvious that your obligation is true, Uchiha. How old is your son? Is he bright? Is he strong? And, more importantly, where is the mother?"

Irritated at being talked about as if he wasn't there, Sukayu spoke up for the first time. "My name, Elder-san, is Uchiha Sukayu, and it's not polite to talk about me when I'm right here!" Sukayu glared at the man, his obsidian eyes a matching pair to the older ninja beside him.

Sasuke smirked slightly, feeling a bubble of pride swell within him at his son's outraged tone. On his right side, a loud snort and chuckle erupted from the loud-mouthed blonde and his former teammate, Naruto.

"God Sasuke, he's just like you! Attitude and all! It's just like I pictured him, a copy of you right down to the tips of his toes!" The blonde chuckled and looked up at the pair. He grinned at the little boy and stuck out his hand. "Hey there, little guy! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Your pops and me go way back when, back before the academy even!"

Slightly startled at the blonde's friendliness, Sukayu blinked confusedly at the man for only a moment, and then glanced up at his father. Seeing his father's nod and slight roll of his dark eyes, Sukayu grinned and shook the offered hand. "Hi Naruto!"

"Naruto! You moron! There is business to be taken care of here!" Tsunade snapped at the eager blonde and rose from her chair. "Sit down! Uchiha, bring your son up here to me, will you? If we're about to lose one of our highest ranking ninja, we're going to make sure it's for a legitimate reason."

Sasuke eyed her suspiciously for a moment and had only just opened his mouth to question her actions when someone else in the room piped up. "Lady Tsunade, if I may ask, what do you mean?" Kakashi, Sasuke noticed, was edging toward him as well, using the question as a means to move slightly through the room.

"There is a simple way to assure everyone that Sasuke is entirely telling the truth. All that is needed to fulfill the obligation clause is to verify Sukayu's heritage and gather the reasoning behind not bringing him to the village." Her voice was very authoritative, and offered no excuses. Her eyes, though, seemed to pierce the Uchiha with their intensity and one phrase seemed to stand out in them, 'What have you done?'

The raven-haired ninja knew that it was risky, riskier even, than it would have been simply to have escaped the village and become a missing ninja once more. The risk was worth it though, for what if Sukayu one day wished to be part of the Village Hidden in the Leaves? What if one day – his demon heritage aside – he wanted to join his father as a ninja of Konoha?

Sasuke glanced at the window and calmed himself, Kagome was here, there was very little the Elders could do with her on his side. She would protect their son at all costs. His resolve strengthened, he grasped his son and jumped gingerly to the front of the room. He released his son's waist and, instead, gripped him tightly by the hand and faced the blonde Hokage.

"Alright, then, Uchiha. Sukayu, I need you to place your hand within mine. Don't give me that look, Uchiha! I'm simply going to test the sequence of his heritage. Then, I'll take yours and compare it to verify that it's the same." Tsunade gently grasped the small boy's trembling hand in her own soft palm. She closed her eyes in concentration for a moment and a blue glow surrounded their joined hands. Tsunade twitched slightly and closed her mouth tightly to prevent her shocked gasp from escaping through her lips. Her hand trembled slightly, just before a series of lines appeared on the top of Sukayu's hand. "There, now, Uchiha, give me your hand." Her voice quivered and the Uchiha's eyes snapped up to peer at her. Her brown eyes were weary and seemed to pierce him. The same question shown through them, only this time it seemed like it had quadrupled in it's intensity. 'What have you done?'

She knows something, the Uchiha thought, she must, or else she wouldn't be so nervous. Has she guessed Sukayu's mother? He placed his palm into the Hokage's smaller one and waited. The blue glow surrounded the joined hands again; only this time there was no nervous trembling. The black marks soon appeared, a perfect match to the smaller version on his son's own hand.

"Now that the heritage is settled, it's time for Sasuke to tell us the reasoning behind his resignation, especially since his son could only excel in the presence of Konoha!" Homura sounded gleeful, much more so than he should have sounded now that he was losing his only remaining Uchiha.

Sasuke hid a snarl; this bastard was toeing the line. "It is very simple, Elder-_san_." He bit out, his voice dripping with icy sarcasm, "My son and his mother live nearly a day's journey from here, away from the hustle of Konoha. He has been raised away from the city and his mother is largely protective over him. I've missed over three years of his life doing my duties as a ninja of Konoha and I have an obligation, as his _father_, to see that he grows into a proper young man, away from any _negative _influences."

Sasuke heard Homura take a sharp intake of breath, a clear sign that he had understood the implications behind his words. He smirked slightly and nearly gave himself a mental pat on the back – that is, until he noticed the slight smirk that the old man was also wearing. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Is there something the matter, Elder-san?"

"Nothing at all, Uchiha. Please, give Koharu and I moment to discuss this privately." Homura's smirk widened slightly and he helped Koharu to her feet. "We'll only be a moment, please, feel free to catch up while we are gone." Then, he crossed the room and followed Koharu through the doorway

Sasuke grit his teeth, but realized there wasn't anything that could really be done, and placed his hand back on his son's head and steered him around to the curious group of nin-onlookers.

"So, Sasuke, that's quite a cute kid you've got there. Why don't you finally introduce us, properly?" Kakashi chuckled slightly at the heated glare the younger ninja sent his way. The raven-haired Uchiha sat his son down on the floor and allowed him to stand on his own two feet.

"Sukayu." He said calmly, "The people here are people that I have known for a long time. They are ninja, like me, and are bound to the Land of Fire and Konoha."

Sukayu's mouth dropped open into an 'o' of understanding before he smiled widely. "Hello!" He bowed to them politely and popped back up with a grin of happiness.

Sukayu was introduced around the room of ninjas, his bright personality and cute face a welcoming calm amongst the tense ninja. Kakashi bent down onto one knee in front of him and held out his hand. "Hey, kid. I'm Hatake Kakashi, and your father was a student of mine for a long time." The silver haired ninja winked at the boy and shook the small hand.

"I have to say, bastard, if it wasn't for the paternity test and the matching looks, I'd never think that this cute kid was yours, he's nothing like you!" Naruto laughed, his blue eyes twinkling as he teased his former teammate. He squatted down next to the boy as well, to the right of his former sensei.

"Neh, neh, Naruto-san! Daddy and me are more alike than that!" The child blinked up at him with large, obsidian eyes. "We both love mommy and mommy's food and daddy loves my drawings. Oh! And mommy says we have the same 'special eyes'. See!" Sukayu grinned at the two and activated his sharingan, which swirled as he looked up at them.

Kakashi sucked in a breath and abruptly looked up at the older Uchiha. "Sasuke?" The raven grunted and raised a brow at his former sensei, pride shining in his eyes. The other blinked his uncovered eye up at him, and Sasuke nodded once. He understood, it was dangerous for his son to be here, especially after what had happened with Itachi.

It was this moment that the Elders chose to return, a tall man wearing a crisp black outfit and a bird-beaked mask trailing behind them.

An Anbu? They had brought an Anbu with them? "No!" Sasuke growled, and whirled around to grab Sukayu and pull him away. It was at that moment, however, that the Anbu grasped the little boy by the waist and picked him up to look him in the eye.

"Rambunctious little brat, aren't you? Feh, let's just hope you don't end up as much of a bastard as your dad." The Anbu chuckled when the small child squirmed.

"No! Put me down!" Sukayu cried, "Put me down! Put me down!" He wiggled and squirmed, clearly uncomfortable in the man's grasp. "You look like them! Put me down!"

"Woah, there brat. Be still for fuck's sake!" The man held tighter, trying to get a good look at the child before he activated his technique.

"No! LET ME GO!" Sukayu screamed, his sharingan flaring to life. A small burst of his demon yuki launched the man away, sending him crashing into the wall at the adjacent side of the room. Sasuke grabbed Sukayu before he could fall to the floor and hugged him tightly, but the little boy wasn't through it seemed.

"You are a bad man! A bad, bad man!" He snarled as he cried, small tears streaming down his rounded face and his eyes – the white's had gone a startling yellow with the sharingan flared to life in the center. "Don't touch me! And leave my daddy alone!" His sobs suddenly overtook him, his voice breaking and hoarse at the end of his tirade. He clutched at his father, and buried his face into his clothed chest.

"Do you see, Elder-san?" Sasuke growled out in a huff, "My son would never be safe here, he would just be a novelty to you, a _trophy_, and I would never put him through such a life." He spat out angrily. "He would never be truly accepted, not by the likes of you."

"You're right, Uchiha." The Elder spat in return, "We would never accept the likes of him! Never!" The Elder snarled with an animosity that Sasuke had no idea he could produce. He glanced down at his son, and realized with a growing dread that Sukayu's hat had slid off at some point in the chaos, revealing a twin set of solid black ears, and that his son now faced the Elder, directly looking at him with his intimidating eyes.

The Uchiha turned, intent on signaling Kagome and leaving as quickly as possible. This was a mistake, a stupid, absolutely stupid, mistake. Did he honestly think that the Elder wouldn't pull something to cause him trouble?

"A monster." Sakura whispered, petrified at the sight of the glowing eyes and red, sharingan irises, and the window beside her shattered, spraying a symphony of glass around the dumbfounded nin. She choked slightly, realizing with horror that she was pressed against the wall, small shards of glass digging into her back and a sharp blade pressed against her jugular. She looked up, right into the glowing eyes of a very pissed off mother.

"Don't you _ever_ call my son a monster, you bitch." Kagome snarled, her fangs snapping slightly at the other woman.


End file.
